Nora Twomey's 'The Breadwinner' Enters Production

More details have been emerging from Nora Twomey and Cartoon Saloon'snext featureThe Breadwinner, as it has now officially entered production. Secret of Kells co-director Twomey makes her solo feature directorial début on the highly anticipated film based on the Afghanistan-set Young Adult novel from Deborah Ellis. The film is being produced by Ireland's Cartoon Saloon in association with Canada's Aircraft Pictures, Luxembourg's Melusine Productions and executive producer Angelina Jolie-Pitt.

The film centres on a young girl named Parvana who must disguise herself as a boy to provide for her family in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. A number of beautiful images from the film have been released by Cartoon Saloon to celebrate the start of key animation this week. And they're every bit as stunning as we'd expect from the Kilkenny-based studio.

The key cast members have also been announced, with the production having been keen to cast as many as possible of Afghan descent. Saara Chaudry from Max & Shred will voice the lead Parvana. Soma Bhatia will play Shauzia, and Laara Sadiq and Ali Badshah will star as Parvana's mother and father. Rounding out the announced cast Shaista Latif will play Parvana's sister Soraya, and Kawa Ada will play Razaq.

The film is expected to be completed in summer 2017 but has no confirmed release date so far. It will be distributed by Elevation Pictures in Canada and StudioCanal in the UK and Ireland. No US distributor has been announced just yet, but we'd expect this to change sooner rather than later. Check out the beautiful artwork below.

AFA is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.